Of Bikes, Cars, and Old Friends
by aceliterature
Summary: Phoenix would do anything for Trucy. Even learn how to drive...


AN: I'm really sorry - this site deleted the spaces between the paragraphs. I nevertheless hope you like this little story. It's very different from the things I normally write, so I was a bit anxious publishing this.

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The chilly breeze coming in through the windows hit him when Phoenix opened his eyes. Outside, the rain drummed steadily, and the lawyer was already preparing to snuggle into the warm blanket again and go back to sleep - when his eyes fell onto his alarm clock. Oh no, no, no, NO. Today was the first day of the trial, the trial he was supposed to defend a client in - and he had slept through his alarm. Since Trucy was away for a few days on a school trip, there had not even been someone to kick him out of bed.

With a shriek he jumped up from his bed. Why had he chosen to go home after the long hours at the office that night? He normally just slept on the couch there when it got too late, but for some stupid reason, he had taken the bike and driven to where his fluffy bed had awaited him. Damn it.

He looked at his phone just as it began to ring.

"Boss. BOSS! Where are you? Mr Woolridge is already waiting for you in front of the courthouse! He called here at the office! He's scared! BOSS!" Athena's voice drove through Phoenix's brain like a screwdriver.

"Athena...ugh..."

"Don't tell me you OVERSLEPT?!" Now he feared she might jump through the phone and strangle him. _Don't need analytical psychology for that._

"I'm...practically on my way. Heh heh..."

"Doesn't sound like it." Athena sounded dangerously like Simon Blackquill right now. _That girl shouldn't spend so much time with him; he's rubbing off on her. Never thought I'd be scared of my subordinate's - or whatever she is - voice... _

_Well, I need to hurry up. Edgeworth is never going to let me live this down if I am late to this trial, and that with a spectacular case of bedhead (or bed-spikes!)._

Phoenix brushed his teeth, splashed some water in his face, took a bite off an old croissant he had found in the kitchen while looking for his tie, and rushed out into the street in record time. He hopped onto his bike and pedaled like Blackquill was chasing him down the street brandishing his katana.

He almost made it. The courthouse was already in sight...

His bad luck that day however had other plans. Phoenix, in his rush and his amazement that he was still in time, didn't notice the many fallen leaves, the mud and the pothole that were in front of his bike. He noticed the fall though, the way he was thrown over the bike and landed unceremoniously on the wet, dirty, and first and foremost HARD street. If he hadn't done so already, he would have fainted upon noticing that it was Edgeworth, dressed in immaculate magenta and frills, who scraped him off the concrete with a mixture of a faint smirk, embarrassment at his rival's clumsiness as well as concern for Phoenix's forehead, where blood was trickling down from the nasty looking wound the fall had caused.

_Ugh. My head. The trial! I need to defend...point my finger...Objection...nghhh..._

Phoenix opened his eyes slowly, so as to prevent the jelly-like substance that filled his head from wobbling around. There were three blobs of color around him - one yellow and orange, one red, and one pink, or was it magenta?

"Nnnnggghh..."

"He's awake!" The Chords of Steel made the jelly in his head bounce and he groaned again.

"Wright..." Edgeworth. _Damn it, now he knows that I made a fool out of myself._

"Boss... Are you ok?" Athena's voice was warm and the only one that didn't almost give him a heart attack.

"Oww, my head", Phoenix croaked. His mouth was dry, and he felt like he'd been driven over by a bulldozer.

"Wright, that bike of yours is a death trap, at least when you ride it."

_Gee, thanks, Edgeworth. But then, he just doesn't want to show he worries about people and not just his work._

"Mr Wright, just so you know, I took over the defense for yesterday's trial. Court was adjourned until next week." Apollo finally managed to speak in a lower voice which soothed the jelly a bit.

"Boss, I'm so sorry for yelling at you..." He knew that Athena was probably looking at the ground right now, an arm wrapped around her front, Widget glowing blue. She sounded genuinely distraught.

" 's okay, Athena. Not your fault..." He was exhausted now, and before he knew, he drifted back to sleep, the jelly settling at the back of his head.

-One week later-

Phoenix unlocked the front door to his office. It was sunnier today, and his mood had lifted considerably since now only a band-aid reminded of his embarrassment the week before - walking with the bandage around his head had carried uncomfortable memories of a certain cackling young woman and her coffee.

Entering the main room, he was surprised to find Athena, Apollo, Edgeworth, Pearl and even Maya sitting on the couch, with Pearl balancing a laptop on her knees, where Trucy's face on Skype was clearly visible.

"Uh...hi guys, what are you all doing here?"

"This is what some people may call an 'intervention', Wright", Edgeworth said in a very official voice that conjured up him standing behind the prosecutor's bench.

"What?"

"Daddy, I think it's time for you to get a driver's license", Trucy's voice sounded tinny over the laptop's speakers.

"Trucy, you know we talked about this a dozen times... I don't like cars, or driving them. I am uncomfortable with it. I always am afraid of causing a big accident or being rear-ended or... I am perfectly happy without a license."

"Boss, you almost got killed last week on your bike. If Mr. Edgeworth here hadn't dragged you off the street, who knows what would've happened!" Athena looked angry.

_Great, so he saw me in full humiliation mode._

"Next time, I'll just take a taxi!" He felt his face flush.

"Mr Nick, you need to be able to drive. Imagine what would happen if you couldn't get a taxi and it was raining or snowing and you needed to collect Trucy from somewhere...Or if you needed to drive Master Maya to your romantic date..." Pearl pressed her hands to her cheeks and blushed while Maya burst into a fit of laughter.

"I'm not...going to...Maya, help me." Phoenix was now tomato red, but the Master of Kurain just giggled.

"Well, if you don't see it that way, I can always get Evan to drive me somewhere", Trucy suddenly said in a completely innocent tone.

"Exactly, you don't need me to...wait, who the hell is Evan?" _And what is he doing with my little girl? _

"One of the older guys from my school. He is so nice, and he looks a bit like Mr Gavin! He's got a sports car and everything, and he always tells me he can give me a ride to wherever I need to be." She smiled in a way that made Phoenix contemplate all the ways he knew to murder someone and leave no forensic evidence. He'd worked enough murder cases to think of a few. (For example, Max Galactica would certainly let him borrow his fabulous bust...)

_She leaves me no choice then, I guess..._

"I just realized, perhaps...perhaps I really should get a license," he finally said in a sheepish voice. Had he looked at the laptop screen, he would've seen Trucy doubled over from laughing at how easily she could manipulate her daddy.

"It is settled, then. I'll take you to the DMV this afternoon, Wright. No excuses!" Edgeworth wagged his finger, while Athena and Pearl cheered happily.

It was two weeks later. Phoenix had already managed his written test quite well, which had called for a small office celebration thrown by Athena and Trucy. He now was grinning from ear to ear as Maya gave him a hug and Trucy pulled a traffic cone out of her panties , but the nagging voice in his head wouldn't shut up since he had realized that now he would have to learn to drive. Like, sitting in a moving vehicle and trying to steer clear of obstacles while remembering which sign was telling him what. _And for heavens' sake, who will teach me_? He hadn't got the time for regular driving lessons (besides, his budget was always tight and he didn't want to dip into the office funds); that's why he had opted for the most common way of learning how to drive: driving with an "adult in possession of a license" in the car, but as the happy giddiness of having mastered the first obstacle in the way of how to prevent Trucy from getting into the car with some older kid wore off, he started to worry about this driving teacher that would have to have the nerves and the patience to watch him freaking out behind the wheel.

"Wright?"

"Huh? Damn, Edgeworth, stop creeping up to me from behind. Did Trucy tell you that this is what gives me the heart attack I don't need?"

"You do realize you need an instructor during the next weeks. While your daughter - who seems to enjoy calling me Uncle, please make her stop - didn't tell me you have the heart of a 90 year old, she suggested I should try and, I quote, "stop Daddy from driving against something that hurts". While I am a very busy man indeed, I guess I could help you out on weekends, granted you find a different car to use. No offense, but my car is new, and since Gumshoe tried to drive it, I have become quite...possessive of it." He frowned.

_Which is to say, you don't trust me one bit more than Gumshoe. Thanks for the vote of confidence._

- The Saturday after -

The car was the oldest, most tattered that Edgeworth had ever had the nerve to climb into, but one thought of Wright scratching his new shiny sports coupé, and he closed the passenger's seat door firmly. The thing was Gumshoe's, who had kindly lent Phoenix his car for the weekends - Edgeworth felt a pang of bad conscience that he had cut the guy's salary so often that he still wasn't able to buy a new car, even after his promotion to Head Detective.

He soon remembered once more why he hadn't wanted Wright to drive his car. By the end of the two hours Edgeworth had allowed his pupil, he was drenched in sweat almost as much as the man in the driver's seat, and almost as pale. But then, looking at the shaken and slightly trembling defense attorney next to him, his ambition flared up. Just as Professor Higgins had taken it upon him to teach Eliza Doolittle language and manners in George Bernard Shaw's famous play, he would make it his project to teach a 33 year old man how to drive. End of story.

As the weeks went by, Edgeworth's nerves did get strained even more than usual. The amount of coffee he poured down his throat was beginning to remind of a certain prosecutor, but his decision was firm; Phoenix Doolitt- ah no, _Wright_ would become a safe driver under his guidance, and if it meant sacrificing every last hour of leisure. He started keeping an instructor's diary, meticulously drawing out exercises and routes for the drives. He even started rewarding the attorney for good driving habits with evidence for some cases he felt demanded more investigation (not much of a sacrifice for him, but it kept Wright happy), all of which started showing some effect after a month. Sure, there still were the days where he wanted to strangle his pupil (and vice versa), but overall, Phoenix improved very nicely. Nicely enough that Edgeworth felt his student was ready to try the exam after two months of strenuous work. While he himself felt his frayed nerves more and more, the defense attorney had come to relax in the car, even sometimes cracking a slow smile while he was driving through the hillside.

-Two weeks later-

It was still not in any way an activity he enjoyed, Phoenix realized as Maya and Pearls hugged him - he was still holding his new license in his hand, feeling deflated like after a courtroom session that went well even though it really should not have. It felt strangely unreal, and he kept from pinching himself to remind his brain he wasn't dreaming. Nevertheless he gave the two Feys a toothy grin, which increased when he remembered that now also his little girl was safe from Gavin-esque schoolmates. Apollo and Athena had been waiting for him at the office, having bought wine and cake (Phoenix thanked God that Trucy hadn't tried to bake - the last time she did, the smell of burnt...whatever it was had permeated everything, making him retch and giving Apollo a headache.)

_Hmm...perhaps, just perhaps it really is a good thing I did this._

Edgeworth was waiting for him as well, a faint smirk on his lips. "Well, I have to admit I am proud that I managed to teach you how not to hurt yourself or others..."

_That's the best you could come up with, Edgeworth? _Phoenix still knew that his rival was also just a tiny bit proud of him for persevering and finally, at the age of 34, being allowed to drive a car, and that made him proud of himself as well. _Strange how much more of an adult I suddenly feel. Like I finally managed to do something I always missed out on. But also like I have crossed a barrier that I can't go back over... I feel pretty old, that's_ _it_.

The celebration was over, and Phoenix went down the steps to where his - yes, his - car was parked at the end of the blind lane. He'd bought it already used, but it was a very comfortable blue sedan that reminded him of his suit. He, Maya, Pearl and Trucy had polished it the day before his exam, and now it was still reflecting the street lights on its roof and front. He still felt happy, in a strange way tinged with something undefinable, and proud of himself; he hadn't even drunk alcohol so he could still drive back to his place. Trucy had a show tonight; Athena had accompanied her and also taken the job of escorting her back to the flat. Lost in his thoughts, the defense attorney climbed into the sedan, closing the door and opening the windows, when...

"Nick? Hey, NIIIIIICK!" With that came the sound of a too loud motor, someone's shrieks, someone behind his still unmoving car losing control of his vehicle. The last thing Phoenix knew before his head hit the windshield was that he would positively kill Larry Butz for rear-ending him.

Four days after getting out of the hospital and threatening his so-called best friend with a lawsuit for ruining his car and giving him the second concussion in three months as well as yelling at him loud enough to surpass Apollo's Chords of Steel, Phoenix drove to court again.

On his bike.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
